Set to play with his third team in as many years when the Steelers kick off the 2023 season, wide receiver Allen Robinson is looking for a fresh start.
After consistently finishing with big numbers through his early seasons, for the last two years Robinson's production has been in a slump, a trend he hopes to end by joining the Black and Gold.
Robinson hit the 1,000-plus receiving yards mark three times in his career and as recently as 2020, but since then has not surpassed 410 yards in a season. Most recently he was unable to establish a connection with Matthew Stafford in L.A. and finished the year with 33 receptions for 339 yards. He also dealt with a stress fracture in his foot that required surgery and put him out of commission for the final seven games of 2022.
Getting traded to Pittsburgh in April gave Robinson a chance to put his recent struggles behind him and play with a Steelers team hungry to return to the playoffs after just missing them in 2022. But his surgery recovery meant he still had to wait until only a few weeks ago to get on the field with his new teammates. Finally back on the field, the 29-year-old is making plans to get back to his former self.
"Where I'm at right now, just recently getting back on the field the last few weeks, I've got a lot of stuff to do," Robinson said, via Triblive.com. "I'll be improving my body by getting out there and training and working with different people to get back to my (old) self. I have a lot of stuff planned."
Robinson, a veteran entering his 10th year, will be joining a young dynamic WR corps in Pittsburgh highlighted by Diontae Johnson and 2022 draft pick George Pickens, each of whom had over 800 receiving yards last year.
How the veteran will slot into the lineup is yet to be determined, and will likely be decided by how well Robinson is able to adjust to his new offense and build chemistry with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.
To that effort, Robinson is already taking steps to get more comfortable with his new signal-caller. With the QB-WR duo both set to be in New Jersey in the weeks between minicamp and training camp, Robinson said the plan is to work out together a number of times before the next phase of the preparation kicks off in late July.
While Pickett said this week that he's also looking forward to getting more reps with his new weapon, he doesn't want to sell short the impactful presence Robinson has already shown in the last few weeks' limited workouts.
"I love Allen," Pickett said. "He shows up every day with the mindset that he wants to work and get better. When you have that, you're going to get there sooner or later. Definitely sooner with him because of his work ethic and how much communication he has with myself and the stuff we've been doing when no one's watching.
"I think those things go a long way. We'll get caught up quickly. I think we're pretty much close to being there."
Heading into his 10th NFL season and playing with a new team, Robinson is hoping for a career resurgence and a chance to show his budding chemistry with his new QB.
